Sunday, April 17, 2011

Apr 23 Meet up Special Speaker: Tsai Ing-wen

Background: BA-National Taiwan University, MA Cornell University Law School, Ph.D. London School of Economics (focus on law). Experience includes Chairperson Mainland Affairs Council, Chief Drafter of Special State-to-state relations under President Lee Teng-hui, Vice Premier of Taiwan under Chen Shui-bian, Current Chairperson of DPP and credited with bringing the DPP back from its disastrous 2008 defeats in the Legislative Yuan and loss of Presidency. (currently has stepped down from Chairmanship to seek the nomination of the party and run for President of Taiwan in 2012)

Topic: Her Vision of Taiwan for the Future and How that Differs from the KMT. Dr. Tsai wishes to speak to people concerned about Taiwan and its future; many of you have been here for some time and care about Taiwan. Her English is excellent.

Time: Doors open at 9:30 am; Meeting will start at 10 am and end at 12 noon. Dr. Tsai will speak for 20 minutes on topic and then open for Q&A. (we hope all will arrive be seated by 10 so we can start promptly--open seating)

Flat Fee Charge: NT$150 (if you can bring exact amount that will be good.) Provided will be coffee, tea and a small cake. (this will not be a breakfast)

Questions: We will try to have as many questions as possible. We ask that they be brief and focused; focus on question, not personal observations etc. one per person, no second questions until everyone else has had a chance for his/her question. When asking a question, identify yourself and then ask.

Attendance: For planning purposes, we need to know how many exactly are coming; many of you have already let me know, the rest please email me by Thursday.

Directions: Bus: The cafe is not far from the corner of Nanking East Rd. Sec. 2 and Sungjiang (Songjiang) Rd. Many buses go down Nanking and Sungjiang. If taking a bus up or down Sungjiang, you are closer if you get off at Chang An Rd. Lane 69 is on the East side of Sungjiang, one block north of Chang An, about 3 blocks south of Nanking. MRT If taking the Red Line, transfer at Minquan W. Rd. to the Luzhou Line and take it to the Sungjiang (Songjiang) Nanking Station, use Exit 4 and walk south on Sungjiang. If taking the Blue Line, transfer at Zhongxiao Xinsheng and go north on the Luzhou Line to Sungjiang Nanking Station and use Exit 4. Lane 69 is easily identified because there is an Ikari Coffee Shop at its corner. Walk east on Lane 69 to #8 and use the stairs down to the basement--a special outside entrance.
Beanstalk Cafe has a Pig face on its exterior, www.beanstalk.com.tw 2507-5502

Since this is a new location for us, it would be best to plan a little extra time in finding it. Those that want a breakfast could come early and have it at Ikari Coffee Shop or other places in the area.

I think this is a rare opportunity for all our members to meet and interact with a person who has a good shot at being the next president of Taiwan, as well as the usual benefit of networking with and sharing each others company. Afterwards, people can either go for lunch upstairs, or at Ikari or at many other cafes in the area.

We look forward for all of us having an enriching experience._______________________ [Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

COMMENTS: May take a while. Google screwed up the old Comments functions in its most recent "upgrade" which really hurt the functionality and usability of Blogger, another trademark Google upgrade that made problems worse while adding more clicks to get anything done.

Photos on this blog are hosted by Flickr. I used to enthusiastically recommend Flickr but the new site changes have grievously impaired its usefulness. My current recommendation: find another photo host. My photos at Flickr. Just click on any photo to be taken to its Flickr page to view it in larger size.